JAK/STAT Pathway Inhibition Reverts IL7-Induced Glucocorticoid Resistance in a Subset of Human T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Although outcomes for patients with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) have improved dramatically, survival rates for relapsed or refractory T-ALL remain less than 10%. While mechanisms mediating chemotherapy resistance in these patients remain incompletely understood, resistance to glucocorticoids (GC), a central component of therapy, may be particularly important. GC resistance occurs more commonly than resistance to other chemotherapeutic agents in ALL. Additionally, newly diagnosed patients that fail to rapidly clear their peripheral leukemic blasts during an upfront window of prednisone (prednisone poor response) have a poorer outcome, suggesting differences in GC sensitivity may exist at diagnosis.

Here, we develop an in vitro assay to model the early prednisone response. Using primary, pre-treatment human T-ALL samples, we demonstrate that individual T-ALLs have distinct intrinsic GC sensitivity thresholds at diagnosis and that this threshold can predict end induction MRD. To interrogate potential mechanisms of GC resistance, we use a panel of patient-derived xenografts (PDX) generated from diagnostic T-ALLs. We find that intrinsic GC resistance is uniformly seen in T-ALLs that arise at the early thymic progenitor (ETP) stage as well as in a subset of non-ETP T-ALLs. Removal of IL7 from the media or inhibition of IL7/JAK/STAT signaling with the JAK1/2 inhibitor ruxolitinib or a novel JAK3 inhibitor, JAK3i, reverses GC resistance in ETP and a subset of the non-ETP T-ALL. This effect is drug specific, since IL7 does not offer protection from death induced by other agents. IL7-dependent GC resistance can be predicted by hyper-responsiveness to IL7 stimulation. Mechanistically, the combination of dexamethasone and ruxolitinib alters the balance between BCL2 and BIM in IL7-dependent, but not IL7-independent, GC resistant T-ALL samples.

Together, these data support a model where IL7, a cytokine with leukemogenic properties that is normally present in lymphopoietic niches, contributes to intrinsic GC resistance in a subset of T-ALL samples. This environmentally induced GC resistance may be reversed with IL7/JAK/STAT pathway inhibition. This could result in an augmented leukemotoxic effect of GC treatment, potentially enhancing efficacy of glucocorticoids in a subset of patients and justifying exposure to the toxic side effects of GCs.